


Late Night

by sami1132



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Canon Compliant, Gen, Post-Star Wars: The Last Jedi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-04-29
Updated: 2018-05-16
Packaged: 2019-04-29 21:48:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 4,194
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14481897
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sami1132/pseuds/sami1132
Summary: Immediately post-TLJ. Hux finds out what really happened in the Throne Room and confronts Kylo with the evidence.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hi everyone, this is my first time posting to this site. I love the dynamic between these two characters and wanted to explore it a little more. No smut, just politics. Includes POVs from both characters. Comments and suggestions welcome! Thanks for reading.

He had avoided going up there all day. There was no rush; he had ordered the throne room to be sealed off, and forbidden anyone from entering. But the bodies had to be disposed of sometime, and the throne room had to be rebuilt.

And before that, Kylo had to make sure that nothing looked suspicious, and that no one would question his version of events. _You could kill the clean-up crew, once they’re done._ But that would simply raise more questions, and besides, the notion wasn’t especially appealing.

So now, in the dead of night, he was headed back up to the throne room. The place where she’d left him. _Rejected_ him.

The lift hissed open, and Kylo stepped out. The fires had burned out long ago, and the lights were turned down. The bodies were still strewn about the floor, heaps of twisted limbs barely visible in the dark. A shining white frost had settled over the room. Pulling his cloak tightly around him, Kylo realized that the temperature had been lowered. _Did Hux turn it down when he followed me out?_

Despite the freezing cold, the bodies were starting to turn—a stench, faint but pungent, hung in the air. Snoke’s golden robe shimmered at the foot of the throne. Kylo approached his body. _Still there_ , he thought. The sight of it should have reassured him. It did no such thing.

Kylo entered Snoke’s private chambers. It was cold and dark inside. He breathed in. The room was sparse, and the air was fresher than inside the throne room. Antiseptic. Strange, he thought. While on board, Snoke never left his throne room or chambers. But these chambers hardly felt lived in at all.

“You’re up late.“

Kylo jumped. To his side, Hux sat in a chair facing him, glass in hand. One of his legs was slung casually on the table in front of him, next to a bottle of powder blue liquid. In the low light, his pale face looked waiflike, almost skeletal.

“What are you doing here?”

“Same thing as you, I imagine.” Hux gestured to the chair opposite him. “Turns out the old man had a taste for fine Mandalorian spirits. Care to try some? It’s quite a decent vintage.”

“These are my chambers now. I want you out.”

Hux didn’t move. _He’s not afraid of me._ Kylo was accustomed to being feared by the other officers in the First Order, a fear so palpable he could sense it when he passed them in the halls. Hux had always been different, more confrontational. Kylo had assumed it was because Hux knew that Snoke protected him, that, for reasons Kylo had never fully understood, Snoke had obliged Kylo to treat him as an equal.

That Snoke had forced Kylo to suppress the occasional violent urge to put the haughty prig in his place, an urge that, in retrospect, had surfaced perhaps a bit too harshly that day.

But even now, with Snoke dead, nothing had changed. He sensed the same simmering contempt as always. And something else…

“I said—“

“Do you know what else he had? A hidden camera in his throne room. One accessible only to him.”

Hux pressed a button on the arm of his chair. A holographic image of the throne room appeared between them, its red glow casting long shadows on the walls.

_My worthy apprentice, Son of Darkness, heir apparent to Lord Vader…_

Kylo’s throat tightened.

_…Where there was conflict, I now sense resolve. Where there was weakness, strength…._

With a flick of his wrist, Kylo reached out with the Force and pressed the button on the chair, shutting off the recording. The hologram vanished, plunging the room back into darkness.

“Perhaps you’d care to revise your story about what transpired in the throne room earlier today?”

_He knows._

Kylo raced through his options. He could confiscate the recording. Without it, Hux couldn’t prove anything. And yet, perhaps an allegation would be damaging enough…

Instinctively, Kylo’s hand moved for his lightsaber.

“Don’t bother. There are copies. Should anything…unfortunate happen to me, those copies will find their way into the hands of every officer in the First Order, along with orders to execute you for high treason.”

Kylo reached out his hand. _Give me the copies…_

Hux raised his hands.

“I don’t know where they are. It’s all automated, you see. Dig around up there all you like. You won’t find them.”

With his outstretched leg, Hux kicked back the chair opposite him. “So. Have a seat, _Ben_.”


	2. Chapter 2

On Crait, Hux had watched from the shuttle as Kylo engaged in an increasingly unhinged battle with Skywalker, culminating in the humiliating revelation that the fool was out there alone, swinging his saber at a hologram. _Idiot. If only he’d listened…_

By then it was too late to stop the rebels from escaping: they’d already boarded their ship, and after the hyperspace attack, the Supremacy’s tracker and weapons systems were offline. His officers could only watch from the bridge, helpless, as the tiny ship jumped into hyperspace.

Of course, the day hadn’t been a complete loss—the rebel fleet, and the vast majority of their soldiers, had been destroyed. And yet, it wasn’t the decisive victory he’d hoped for, that he’d worked and waited and suffered for so many years to achieve. _We were_ _so close._ The thought enraged him.

While Kylo lingered on the surface of the planet, Hux took a separate shuttle back to the Supremacy. Alone in his quarters, he rubbed his temples and tried, for the first time, to process the day’s events. Everything had been going so well. The tracker had worked perfectly. The rebel spies had been captured, and the cloaked shuttles discovered. When did it all start to unravel?

The hyperspace attack had been unexpected, and costly. But it hadn’t deterred them—they had more than enough manpower and armaments on the Supremacy to wipe out what was left of the resistance.

 _The girl._ She had ruined everything. What was she even doing on board? On his private console, he punched up the day’s reports and scrolled through them. She’d appeared out of nowhere, and turned herself in without a fight. He pulled up footage from the hanger bay where her pod had landed. Kylo was standing there, waiting to receive her. Hux leaned closer. _He was expecting her._

He took her directly to the throne room. Hux accessed the camera from the lift. He watched them speak. He rewound the footage and watched it again, overcome with unease. _Something isn’t right._ They were too familiar. Hadn’t she nearly killed him just days ago? Now, Kylo was uncharacteristically calm, almost cordial.

They disappeared out of the lift. Hux shut his console. Snoke was adamant about privacy. No cameras were permitted in the throne room, and no one attended to him on a regular basis except Kylo, Hux, and the Pretorian guards. _And now the guards are dead._

The girl was vicious, that much was evident. Hux recalled the sight of Kylo’s mangled body lying in the snow, like he’d been mauled by a wild animal. So vulnerable, so…ordinary. As satisfying as the memory was, in the moment it was shocking to see, and more disquieting he cared to admit.

But Kylo was one man. Could this girl, this _nobody,_ have killed Snoke, a dozen guards, and fought off Kylo all at once? While unarmed and in restraints? And if Kylo was knocked unconscious, why leave him alive?

Hux stood up, fuming, and picked up his coat. _He takes me for an imbecile._ While shrugging his coat on, he caught a glimpse of his bruised neck in the mirror. He pulled down his collar and traced the long, purple blots etched across the sides of his throat.

Hux held his reflection in the mirror for a moment, picked up his blaster and holstered it, and walked out.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Will add more chapters next week hopefully. Comments/suggestions welcome!

They sat opposite each other in silence. Hux reached under the table and pulled out another glass, then took hold of the bottle.

 “I’m good.”

 Hux paused, then filled the glass anyway. Kylo glowered at him.

 Hux sat still for a moment, then finally broke the silence.

 “Snoke was a cunt. I don’t blame you for wanting to kill him. I certainly did, sometimes. But he was a cunt for a _reason._ He knew one of us would take over the leadership one day. He was trying to prepare us, make us stronger—”

 “He was manipulating us. Pulling our strings, getting us to do whatever he wanted—“

 “Sure. He’s Supreme Leader, that’s his _job._ If you want to succeed him you should learn to do the same.”

 Hux hesitated. This would be delicate...

 “You didn’t want to kill that girl.”

 Kylo remained silent.

 “You should have. And _then_ killed him, if you really felt you had to.”

 “I tried to turn her to our side. She would have been valuable.”

 “She’s talented, no doubt. But she’s not one of us, and never will be. I actually suspected she’d made a deal with you. But no, she just thought she’d _save_ you, I suppose? That was the plan?”

 Hux raised an eyebrow sardonically.

 “She’s naïve. She saw what she wanted to see.”

 “She’s a child. She’s gotten herself involved in a conflict she barely understands. You gave her a chance to join us, and she turned you down. She’ll pay the price for that.”

 Kylo fell silent again. He picked up his drink. Hux watched him intently.

 “It’s not personal. Just the logic of war. She’s on one side, we’re on another.” Hux shifted back in his chair. “If I may make an observation— am I wrong in saying you’ve never fully reconciled yourself to the morality of it?”

 “Of what?”

 “War.”

 Kylo tensed and looked up. Their eyes met.

 “I’ve got no problem with killing.”

 “No, you’re good at killing. That’s not what I mean. I mean the arbitrariness of it.

 Take this scavenger girl, for example. As far as I can tell, she got involved with resistance criminals by being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But it might have passed that we could have picked her up as a child, taken her away from her worthless parents, and raised her here. And chances are she’d have been just as keen to kill her friends as she is to defend them now.

 I was born on this side of the war. I’ve been in the First Order since I was a child. I know I could have just as easily been born on their side. But I also know that it doesn’t matter. I accept who I am, and what I was born into. “

 He paused, refilling their glasses.

 “But not you. You weren’t born into the First Order. Quite the opposite.” He gave Kylo a considered look. “You know, one thing I’ve never been able to work out is why you joined us in the first place. What you get out of being part of all this.”

 Kylo leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “You’re wrong. About everything being arbitrary.”

 “It’s the will of the Force, I suppose?”

 “You think its just superstition. But that’s because you’re blind to it. You don’t have the power to see beyond what’s in front of you.”

 “No, I accept there’s something to it. I see the things you can do. But that doesn’t mean that the Force itself isn’t arbitrary. What else explains why _you_ have it, and the rest of us don’t?” Hux tried hard to keep the edge out of his voice. _Careful…_

 Kylo sat back in his chair. _He might not fear me. But he envies me._ The thought gave him some satisfaction.

 “The Force touches everything. Everyone has it. Not everyone is….skillful enough to be attuned to it.”

 “Same difference.”

 “It isn’t. You wouldn’t understand.” Kylo looked to the side, deep in thought. “You asked why I joined the First Order. The Force guided me here. It called to me. I fought it for a long time. Maybe it’s the case that what you were born into suited you. But I _never_ fit in, where I was born. The Force had other plans for me.”

 “Perhaps I’m lacking in piety. I do admire the strength of your religious convictions. But—forgive me—I find these mystical justifications unconvincing. Perhaps the real explanation is much simpler.”

 “And what’s that?”

 “You have power. You enjoy exercising it over others. You sought out a place that gives you the liberty to do so without sanction.”

 Kylo shifted in his chair. Hux went on:

 “Or maybe it’s more personal for you. You wanted revenge against your family, perhaps? For mistreating you. For lying to you. So you came to the place that would cause them the most pain.”

 “You don’t know anything about me, or my _family_ —“

 “Relax. I’m not passing judgment. I completely understand. It feels good to right wrongs. It feels good to take revenge. It feels good to have power over others. Why should we be afraid to say it?”

 Kylo looked back at him, deadly still.

 “Don’t act like we’re the same. We’re not. You don’t feel anything when you kill. Or I should say, when you order other people to do it for you.”

 “Ah yes, you prefer the personal touch. How’d that go for you today?”

 Hux felt a grip tightening around his neck, lightly. From across the table Kylo’s eyes shined malevolently in the dark. _Don’t push me._

After a moment, Kylo released him. Hux willed himself to stay perfectly still, to deny Kylo the satisfaction of seeing his discomfort. He smiled instead.

 “So you do enjoy it. Using your power.”


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I thought it would be fun to write a flashback to Kylo and Hux's first meeting. Hope you enjoy!

Hux stood on the platform, waiting. The sun was setting and the temperature was falling. He rubbed his hands together and shoved them in his pockets. _Where is he?_

Snoke had told him almost nothing, just that there was a new faction that had joined the First Order, led by someone named Kylo Ren. Snoke had ordered Hux to greet him and his companions upon their arrival to Starkiller Base.

It had been nearly an hour since Hux had been instructed to arrive for their meeting. Their ship had entered the atmosphere on schedule. But they hadn’t landed, nor were they responding to messages from the terminal.

Hux had been contemplating leaving for some time, but Snoke’s orders had been clear. And Hux was all too familiar with the consequences of not complying with Snoke’s orders to the letter. _Is this a test?_ It was always difficult to be sure.

The communicator on his wrist flashed.

“ _General. Their ship is approaching the platform_.”

“Right on time,” Hux said sarcastically. In the distance, he saw a light grey ship break through the clouds. It landed on the platform, blowing snow in all directions. The engines shut down.

_That’s a Republic ship,_ Hux realized. Snoke hadn’t mentioned where they were coming from. Were they defectors?

The ship’s ramp hissed open. Hux straightened. He stood alone on the platform, flanked by a handful of stormtroopers. The winds had picked up, and Hux was anxious to get them inside. _Patience. Let them come to you._

A handful of masked, darkly-clad figures emerged from the ship. They assembled in a line, smoke from the ship’s exhaust blowing through their robes. They stood there, still and silent as ghosts.

_What the hell is this?_

One of the figures stepped forward. He was tall, Hux noted. Something about the way he moved, silent and imposing, unsettled Hux. As his robes blew about, Hux caught a glimpse of a long metal object attached to his belt.

They stood silently, face to face. _Might as well take the initiative._

“Welcome. I’m General Hux. You must be Kylo Ren?”

He stretched out his arm. Kylo didn’t move.

_Does he understand me? Where is this idiot from?_

“I understand you just fine, General.” His voice, muffled by his mask, was nearly unintelligible in the howling wind.

_This has to be a joke._ Hux stifled the urge to laugh.

Kylo stepped forward, menacingly.

 “Something funny?”

 “No, not at all.” _Focus._ _Keep it professional._ “I’m sure you’ve had a long journey. I’m here to welcome you and your companions to our facility. It isn’t much, as you can see. We’ve only just set up here. But it will be, when it’s complete.”

“Where’s Snoke?”

“The Supreme Leader is inside, resting. He regrets that he couldn’t be here to greet you in person. I’ll escort you to the throne room to meet with him later. First, perhaps you and your companions could follow me inside? We’ve prepared accommodations for you. I also thought you and I might tour the facility together beforehand—since we’re going to be working side by side I’d like to brief you on the inner workings of the First Order—“

“That won’t be necessary. I’ll get all the information I need from the Supreme Leader.”

Hux was speechless. He looked at the others standing behind Kylo, stoic and impassive. _Who are these people?_

Kylo gestured to one of the stormtroopers standing behind Hux. “You. Show us to our quarters. Now.” He moved in the direction of the door.

Hux stepped in front of him. “Hang on. These soldiers are under my command.”

Kylo stepped closer. “Out of my way. I won’t ask again.”

_Ok. So it’s a pissing contest then. Two can play at that game._

“This is a military installation. If you’d like to be admitted, you’ll have to follow protocol. Otherwise you’re welcome to remain on your ship until you’re summoned.” Hux looked Kylo up and down. “Your attire is quite _theatrical_ , I’ll give you that. That dress is especially flattering—“

Hux felt something tight grab hold of his body, as though he was shoved into a crowded room with no space to move. His arms pressed firmly against his ribs. He gasped for air but could barely breathe.

Kylo raised his hand in front of Hux’s face, like he was on the verge of absolving him of some sin, and then moved his hand to the side. Hux’s body, stiff as a statue, followed, his boots scraping across the ground. Kylo pushed Hux all the way to the edge of the platform, until the heels of his boots were suspended in the air. It was a long drop down, Hux knew. His heart pounded in his ears.

_He’s a Jedi,_ Hux realized. _They all are._

Kylo regarded him for a moment, suspended in the air, then walked forward towards the entrance. His companions swiftly followed. The stormtroopers, clearly rattled, quickly parted ways and scurried alongside them. Without looking back, Kylo lifted his hand and flicked his wrist inwards. Hux lurched forwards on to the platform. His limbs freed, he stumbled on to one knee, steadying himself with a hand on the ground.

Hux looked up as Kylo and the others approached the door, his face burning with humiliation. A stormtrooper looked back at him, confused and helpless. Hux gritted his teeth.

_No. This base belongs to me._

He punched a few commands into the device on his wrist, then got to his feet. At the entrance, one of the stormtroopers attempted to open the door. It remained shut. He tried again, to no avail.

“Open the door,” hissed Kylo.

“I—I’m trying sir, the door appears to be locked,” the stormtrooper replied.

Hux calmly walked up behind them. He brushed past Kylo without a word and punched a few numbers into the console. The door slid open.

“You need the access code.”

He strode forward into the base, then stopped and looked back.

“You coming?”


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Back in the present, Hux presents Kylo with a choice.

Hux twirled the liquid in his glass, absently.

“Mind if I ask you something, Ren?”

“What?”

“When we first met, I tried to be civil. I had no preconceptions, I knew nothing about you. But you were…uncooperative. To put it diplomatically.”

“Snoke told me not to trust you.”

Hux chuckled.

“What’s so funny?”

“He told me the same thing about you. I discovered who you were, eventually. Where you came from. When I brought the information to Snoke, it came as no surprise, obviously. He told me he had brought you into the First Order to use you against your family. But he warned me that he feared you were too soft for us. Too unstable to be trusted.”

“He called you a rabid cur.”

Hux laughed. “Guilty as charged. I suppose that’s not the worst thing I’ve ever been called.” His smile faded. “Snoke was right, of course. You shouldn’t have trusted me. But that’s no excuse for incivility.”

Kylo looked pensive. _It bothers him, what I said about Snoke_ , thought Hux.

“You were probably wise to kill him. It’s likely he would have killed you, in the end. Probably soon.”

“He might have done the same to you.”

“Maybe. Who knows? Maybe I would have found a way to kill him first. Your kind are particularly challenging. But no one’s unkillable.” Hux sat back. “Maybe you didn’t need the girl. Maybe you should have come to me to help you get rid of him. I might have been up for it.”

Kylo snorted. “You would have gone straight to him.”

“Don’t be so sure, if the incentives were sufficiently attractive. You might not trust me, but I’ve always found self-interest to be trustworthy enough.”

 “And what would be good enough for you? The throne itself, maybe?” Kylo looked across the table, calmly. “I know you want it.”

Hux shrugged. “Who doesn’t? Although maybe it’s better that the target’s on your back and not mine.” He looked back at Kylo. “I conquered the galaxy. Whatever happens now, no one can ever take that from me. If you squander it—that’s not on me.”

“I don’t intend to _squander_ it.”

“No, I’m sure you don’t. But tell me something.” He paused. “What’s the worst thing you’ve ever done?”

The question caught Kylo off guard. He said nothing, but looked slightly distraught.

_There he is,_ thought Hux. _The man behind the mask._

They remained silent for a moment. Then Hux spoke, quietly:

“I suppose if we’re talking scale, it’s Hosnian for both of us, isn’t it? But it’s too abstract, in a way. The mind can’t grasp it. No, it’s always the personal ones that cut the deepest, wouldn’t you agree?”

He paused.

“Perhaps…your father?”

Kylo struggled to keep the groundswell of emotion rising in his chest from manifesting on his face. Hux watched him closely.

“I don’t hold it against you. I killed my father too.”

Kylo’s eyes narrowed. _He’s lying. This is one of his games._ Hux looked serenely across the table at him. Kylo reached out with the Force. Hux was difficult to read, more so than most. And yet, in this moment, Hux’s mind was open. _He wants me to see..._

_He’s not lying._

“Your father was a great man. He helped  _build_ the First Order.”

“Oh yes, he was. He was also a vicious sadist. I wouldn’t waste your sympathies on him.”

Kylo looked at him, accusingly. “You wanted his job.”

Hux raised an eyebrow. “And you wanted Snoke’s.”

He leaned forward.

“I only asked because if you want to be the leader this galaxy needs, you need to be prepared to do a lot worse that what you’ve done so far. And—if I can be perfectly frank—I’m not convinced you have the stomach for it. Better that you’re honest with us, and with yourself, before we go any further down this path.”

Kylo looked down at his drink. It had seemed so clear earlier that day. He’d take the throne, with Rey by his side. But things hadn’t gone that way. It stung, the way she’d looked at him from the Falcon before she’d flown off. Disgust. Disappointment. _Pity._

Hux watched him, then spoke:

“This can go one of two ways. If you want the throne, you’re welcome to it. But I want you to understand one thing. You don’t rule the First Order. You _serve_ it. You belong to us, body and soul. Your feelings, your desires, your petty vendettas against your family—they no longer matter. The only thing that matters is bringing order to the galaxy. Every decision you make from now on will be in the service of that objective. And, in the future, if there’s a match for you that’s politically advantageous, that’s what will happen. A scavenger from nowhere, with connections to the resistance—that won’t work. She doesn’t fit in this picture."

Kylo looked up. Hux continued:

“Or there’s another possibility. Take your shuttle, go find the girl, take her to a quiet corner of the galaxy, and live out your days. Don’t bother us, and we won’t bother you. It’s your choice. But you have to decide now. No more equivocation.”

He leaned back.

“So, what’ll it be, Ben? Are you in, or out?”

A long silence passed. Kylo seemed deep in thought. Hux heart beat faster. _Is he having second thoughts?_

Kylo looked up.

“I’m in.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Have been a bit busy with deadlines these days but will try to post some more on the weekend. As always, comments welcome! Thanks for reading.


End file.
